This came up on on a message board I read occasionally, and I was wondering how people around here would answer the question.

Every so often, an event or figure from the popular culture will just plain terrify people. From Elvis Presley rotating his torso to Marilyn Manson wearing freaky contact lenses, there have been people or moments that caused parents to unplug the TV, politicians to make pronouncements, and the younger generation to say "I don't see what the big deal is." So my question, then, is what's your favorite example of pop culture controversy that, in retrospect, just seems kinda silly?

For me, the the answer is Jonathan Demme's Philadelphia. At the time, lots of people were up in arms about the movie's "positive" depiction of the gay lifestyle (despite the presence of the Denzel Washington character, presenting "the other side" of the argument, which was essentially that gay people are gross but we still have to provide them with legal representation). In hindsight, the movie seems like just another bland Tom Hanks vehicle choking on its own sentimentality and self-importance, but at the time people actually protested (in fact, my friends and I had to see it in another town, 'cause the local theater wouldn't show it).